CIHM Microfiche Series (i\Aonographs) ICMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Caiwdi«n InstituM for Hiatorkal Micraraproductioiw / Institut Canadian da mier ■'reproduction* liiatoriqu** 1995 Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes technique et bibllographlques The Institute tias attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming are checked below. [71 Coloured covers / ^^^ Couverture de couleur I 1 Covers damaged / Couverture endommag*e rn Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture iestaur6e et/ou pelliculee I I Cover title missing /Le litre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes geographiques en couleur Vy\ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or Wack)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations / Planches et/ou illustratkins en couleur I I Bound with other material/ Relie avec d'autres documents I I Only edition available / ' — ' Seule edition disponible I I Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin / La reliure serrSe peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsran le long de la marge int^rieure. I I Blank leaves added during nestoratk)ns may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming / II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, kirsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 4t6 tilmSes. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur examplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exem- plaire qui sont peut-Stre uniques du point de vue bibli- ographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modifications dans la m6th- ode nonmale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. I I Cotoured pages/ Pages de couleur I I Pages damaged/ Pages endommagSes I I Pages restored and/or laminated / Pages restaurtes et/ou pellicultes \/\ Pages discotoured, stained or foxed / Pages decolor^es, tacheties ou piquees I I Pages detached/ Pages d«ach6es ry] Showthrough / Transparence FT] Quality of print varies / '-^ Quality in^le de I'impression I I Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire I I Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image / Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 filmfes a nouveau de fa^on a obtenir la meilleure image possible. I I Opposing pages with varying colouration or discolourations are filmed twice to ensure the best possible image / Les pages s'opposam ayant des colorations variables ou des decol- orations sont filmdes deux fois afin d'obtenir la meilleur image possible. D Addtk)nat comments / Commentaires suppldmentaifBs: Thii ittm is filmad at th« reduction rnio chackld below/ Ct documtnt tn ftlmi au nu> de rMuction indiqui ci-dawHis. tax ^^^ 14 X tax 22X 26X XX u J I2X 16X 20X 2«X ^^^^ ?nx L_l Th* copy fllmad h«r* hat baan raproducad thanki to tha aonaroaitv of: National Library of Canada L'axamplaira film* fut raproduil grtca 1 la gtntroiit* da: Blbllothequa nationals du Canada Tha imaga* appaaring hara ara tha bait quality poMibIa conaidaring tha condition and loglbillty of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract ipacificationa. Original coplaa in printad papar covara ara fllmad baginning with ti«a front eovar and anding on tha iaat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- aion, or tha back covar whan appropriata. All othar original eopiaa ara fllmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or illuatratad Impras- aion, and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Tha last raeordad frama on aach microficha shall conuin tha symbol -^ Imaaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ Imaaning "END"), whichavar applias. Mapa, plataa, charts, ate, may ba fllmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too larga to ba antiraly includad in ona axposura ara fllmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand comar, laft to right and top to bonom. as many framaa as raquirad. Tha following diagrams illustrata tha mothod: Las imagas suivantas ont M raproduitas avac la plus grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattai* da l'axamplaira film*, at an conf ormit* avac laa conditions du contrat da fllmaga. Laa axamplairaa origlnaux dont la eouvartura an papiar aat ImprimAa sont film*s an commancant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnitra paga qui comporta una ampraints d'Impraasien ou d'illustratlon. soit par la sacond plat, aalon la caa. Tous laa aulras axamplairas originaux sont fiimts an commandant par la pramMra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraksion ou d'illustratlon at an tarminant par la darnMra paga qui comporta una talla amprainta. Un das symbolaa suivants spparaitra sur la darnlAra imaga da chaqua microficha. salon la cas: la symbols ^^ signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbols ▼ signifia "FIN". Las cartas, planchas. tablaaux. ate. pauvant itra filmta i daa taux da raduction difftrcnts. Lorsqua la documant ast trop grand pour itra raproduit an un saul clicht. il ast film* i partir da I'angia supAriaur gaucha. da gaucha t droita. at da haut an bas. an pranant la nombra d'Imagaa ntcassaira. Laa diagrammas suivants illustrant la mMhoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MOIOCOrr tiSOUITION tbt chait (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART Nc. 2) I.I 12a I2J m in u 1.8 ^ll^i;i _^ /APPLIED IIVHGE Inc ^^ I6S3 East Main Strmt ^S Rochastar. N«« York 14609 USA r.^= (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^SS (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax 4«. ^P**»* /V« // <_« . <*^**»/^'' /<• *«*. / -. y - •V •^^ ■* •* / 4««^** .--^Z '; COPVKIOHT l«IO Niw AMtTiL Maoazini Co. Wilmington, D«l. 'I, s. A. A BLOSSOM OF THE SEA AND OTHER POEMS B]f Lyman C. Smith Niw Amitil Magaiimi CoiiPAMr WiLMIMOTOH, DiLAWARI, U. S. A AHNO DOMIMI UCMX L yM/9(s/, c. s. 53913 CONTENTS ill Master! Clotk Introductory Sonnett Shadow! The Auction Sable laland Lament of a Skeleton Semper Eadem The Queen Rex Mortuu! Eit. Tamen Vivit Ambition and Praiae Our City Couiin A Child*! Queation On a Dot Buried in H A View of Death The Deierted Houie To Miriam The Sno^ir Whitby Ladie!' College A Blo!!om of the Sea A Pioneer Farmer How Lon^ ? . Onward Majuba Hill Canada to Columbia Columbia to Canada Builden of the Broad Dominion England The Bay of Quinte 7—8 9 14 19 36 31 34 37 41 43 49 53 35 58 61 70 71 74 100 109 HI 113 lie 118 120 125 125 CONTENTS A Leader Tk. Manli in Winter Deformitici Til. DatK u>d Mnnory of the Jurt Archibald Lampman Theodore H. Rand Alexandra On Viewing King Edwardj Picture Goldwin Smith Florence Nightingale Mark Twiin Fragmentt To Louise To Marie To NeUie To Olive To Clara To Vivian To Margaret To Aileen To Katie To Maud The BcMemer A Lewon The Paning Year To a Friend Falling Stan Fairy Land The Robina LES BELLES CANADIENNES No. 2 IS6 137 137 138 130 131 133 133 133 133 134 13} 136 136 137 138 138 139 139 140 141 141 143 14« 147 149 151 133 134 CONTENTS SONGS Anticipation Elaine Wken rokini pip< tkair w.rnin, O turn to me deareit . Wken Jown from realm. „{ p..rf.„ u„, SI.. . krijht little. .li,ht linl. maid IN LIGHTER VEIN How Jennie Cro»ed the Border A Morning-. Adventure, with Auto. A Stirring Scene The Letter The Yantic Jonathan and I John Bull and Son Sam Golfing on the Green UlyHe. Aviator. Fini. 157 139 161 161 163 164 167 173 176 179 180 183 187 190 193 214 218 A Blossom of the Sea QO LITTLE BOOK, thy silent lips unseal VJ For all that plod life's valleys glad or drear; The secrets of thy maker's heart reveal To all that deign thy simple words to hear WW ?" ^"°^'r -'■'^^ ''^^^ ^^^"^'l his breast, What pleasures cheered, what bitter trials vexed, What hopes encouraged, or what doubts distressed In darker hours when mysteries perplexed. These musings on his way, not darker made Nor bnghter, than for thousands more beside May aid some soul dejection to evade Or glad some baffled bosom sorely tried Go, httle book, thy silent lips unseal The purpose of thy maker's heart reveal I I A Blossom of the Sea what are blooms to A WREATH of blooms,- me, — Meek wayside dwellers with the clustered weed, Nor fairest nor the best that deck the m^ad, Nor what I might have gathered were I free To leave my ordered path and nearer see The streams, whose distant call I hear, that lead The leisured foot where banks of sweetness feed With floating balm the height and level lea, I proffer these to bring what cheer they may To all that hurry on the crowded way: For me, the breathings of their fragrant lips. Their modest faces peering from the sod. The touches of their velvet finger-tips, Have cheered the darkest valleys I have trod. And Other Poems SHADOWS I. r~\ EARTH, colossal charnel heap, V^ To thee all life must tribute give ; Thou dost the dead of ages keep, Shalt be the grave of all that live. There is no morsel of thy mould With wreck and waste of life unblent; The dead thy heaving waters hold, The dead are in thy bosom pent. The bloom that lifts a timid face. The oak that braves a tyrant blast, Shall feel the chill of thy embrace And mingle with thy dust at last. The countless tissue-pinioned things Fulfil their slender hour and fall ; The bird that to the zenith springs Thy sordid clods at last enthral. The worm that mines a winding cave. The ant that drills thy flinty crust, ' Shall find their sunless home a grave And add their atom to thy dust. A Blossom of the Sea Below thy heaving mounds are hid The dead of ages all unknown; The cliff is but a pyramid That holds the dead embalmed in stone. The chalk-built height a mound of shells From which the fragile life hath fled; Thy restless ocean foams and swells O'er slimy deeps of shapeless dead. The mammoth huge in forest gloom, That crushed with stolid step thy mould, Thy winter-fettered sands entomb. Or sunken bogs imprisoned hold. II. O Earth, from days of dawning time Hast thou been steeped in purple flood; The monsters jf the early prime Contending drenched thee in their blood. The timid fawn the lion tears The brooding dove the eagle takes. The swallow cleaving summer airs Of whining gnat a victim makes. The stronger rend the shrinking weak; Nor Life her tribute may deny. For these with sanguine claw and beak Must sate a craving maw or die. And Other Poems But man with more undying wrath The trail of slaughter hath pursued; The tamt of blood is on his path, His brow with brother's blood imbued. No inch of soil his foot hath pressed But human ashes roof it o'er; And not a clod upon thy breast But bears the tinge of human gore. No Alpine snow undyed is found, No cave with unbesprinkled stones, No plain unmarked by charnel mound. No sea unpaved with human bones. In all the dim uncountefl years Too many are the ways of death : The arctic chills,— the tropic seres,— The desert blasts with poison breath; Fierce toil unceasingly consumes,— The glare of molten furnace blights,— Disease the cradled infant dooms,— Contagion half a nation smites,— Gaunt Famine glides through glebe and town; They stifle in the dismal mine,— Thy yawning bosom gulfs them' down,— They choke in swirls of seething brine. r: A Blossom of the Sea III. O Earth, thou art the nurse of life! O Earth, thou givest man his breath I Then why this universal strife, And why this carnival of death? T". man in all the doom and din But plaything for the whirling gusl? Is Life— this life that stirs within— A passing eddy in the dust? Is Life a stream whose winding maze Must end in Death's eternal shoal? Is Life the transitory phase. And Death the last and final goal? Yet from the wreck and waste of dead The varied forms of being spring: From ashes, from the husk and shred Thou dost in turn the living bring. No tree may rise from nut mature Unless the parent nut be riven; Is this thy changeless law and sure That life for life be ever given? The hidden records of thy breast. If rightly we their secret read. Declare thy fixed and stern behest. "The low shall pass; the high succeed." ta And Other Poems Can this forever be thine aim ? Is this thy purpose and thy plan, From all the fallen wreck to frame The higher type, the perfect man Afar the eye we backward strain: The wave is fenced with dyke of stone,- The marsh is gone,— the monster slain,— We dream the world is better grown; We dream what is and what hath been Are atoms of a mighty whole That, guided by a hand unseen. Is moving to a final goal. But what the goal? Unknown— unknown- The fronting mists are hard to part ; We grope through shadows dim and lone And follow whispers of the heart. January, 1902. i3 A B/ossom of the Sea * THE AUCTION A T THE low sunken doorway an auctioneer stood, '» And he and the crowd were in jocular mood, i-or before him about on the walk were displayed The goods of a debtor whose rent was unpaid- Old-fashioned and shrunken, disfigured by wear. Unvarnished, and broken beyond all repair. "A collection of articles here I present Such as never to hammer of auctioneer went. Of their value as relics I need but remark That Noah secured them to furnish his ark. A garden unpeopled this world might have smiled Had these not the gloom of that voyage beguiled. "Now, here is a bed so decrepit and old It leans for support as it stands to be sold ; Its tremulous wails of rheumatic distress Tell the twinges of pain that it cannot suppress. Who bids for an article useful and cheap, A bed that makes music to lull you to sleep ? "Here's a fine chest of drawers. Allow me to state Twas the first Adam made when he left Eden's gate Mother Eve kept her bonnet in this, while in that You'll yet find the band of his best Sunday hat; While here, as a proof it was once Mother Eve's Are a few relics left of her garment of leaves. U V i And Other Poems "Here's a chair: and you'll say, when it closely you view, ' That Adam could never have made more than two On that he perched Abel; on this he raised Lain • " That this IS the cane chair is perfectly plain It will rock without rockers, for 'mong its goo,! points Are double back-acting and flexible joints." While he jested and jeered without ceasing the crowd As they bid or they listeneat pallid and strengthless and faded away ta A Blossom of the Sea \ !l And this was the bed, when no more he could rise, When the light of another world shone in his eyes And illumined his cheek, where he sank down at last And lay while the years drifted languidly past; Till, one dismal morning, here clasped on his breast The thin, shrunken fingers at last found a rest. On that old creaking couch after day's weary round For forty long years he a rest nightly found ; And now on that couch after life's weary close He found from its toil an eternal repose : No more the lip quivered with half-suppressed pain, No pang broke the peace of his slumber again. When the auctioneer next took a wee baby's chair — The one single piece yet untarnished by wear — Again rose the vision of ne'er-forgot years, Again burst the stream from the fountain of tears. And there broke from her lips such a moan of distress That it told more of anguish than words could express. In the lone happy days of the long, long ago. Had she pleaded with Heaven a child to bestow. The Lord heard her cry, and, in answer, of those Best-beloved by the angels the dearest he chose. Its hair into ringlets their hands had caressed. Its cheeks into dimples their fingers had pressed. Its face wore the joy of the glad seraph throng When they circle the altar and burst into song; Its brow had been smoothed by the Lord's shining hand, i6 And Other Poems Its lips had been touched with His red altar-brand. The heart-winning ways that endeared it above Awoke all her dormant affection and love. And this plain little chair for the child was a throne Where it prattled and sang in a low musing tone Of the wonderful world it had dwelt in on high: And the glad-pinioned years flitted tranquilly by In a radiant clime of ineffable peace, For she dreamed that her happiness never could cease. But all that the angels can suffer of pain They felt, and they pined for their darling again. So downward they stole at the close of the day Where restless and flushed on the pillow it lay. It slept while she fondled each pain-moistened tress- It woke at the touch of an angel's caress. The casket was broken, the treasure was gone ; Though childless and widowed she long struggled on ; But in all of her poverty, hunger and pain Her lost baby's chair she contrived to retain. But now, as she gazed through the mist of her tears, 'Twas the one verdant plot in the desert of years. The chair he uplifted. The crowd nearer pressed Expectantly waiting the auctioneer's jest ; But his ear caught the cry and the moan of dismay, And the half-uttered jest on his lips died away ; For he saw on her face the mute look of despair And he read at a glance all its history there. n 't! 1 1 'd A Blossom of the Sea The hammer he dropped, from his station he went He flung to the landlord the trifle of rent- The chair in the hands of the mother he pressed, Who hugged it convulsively close to her breast And silently lifted her tear-streaming eyes Where gratitude mingled with joyful surprise. The crowd saw the act and they gave him a cheer- If the chord's rightly touclied it -a ;11 ever ring clear. He found her a shelter from tempest and cold, And it lacked not her Jtore of the treasures of old With his hand and his heart moving thus in accord. He felt something higher than earthly reward. i8 And Other Poems SABLE ISLAND J^" r f"-' ''^° " ^"'"-^ '"''' '""• '""-"S '■" "> become the bride ,f an E„gl„h .^Keruan^ned at Halifax, ^hen the -veuel ^a, caul her dress, aud especally by a ring she nvore. robbed her and ,h!n cast her into the sea.] I. pASTWARD leagues from Nova Scotia, ■l-< Where across the lonesome levels Silent, shrouded spectres creep, Long and low lies Sable Island ' Like the fabled ocean serpent. Stretched in curves of lengthened winding Slumbering on the sleepless deep. There for ages have the Tempests, Maddened scavengers of ocean. Flung the refuse from their hands; There have tumbled in confusion Stifled crews and shattered vessels, Jeweled chains and silken mantles, Shifting with the shifting sands. IQ A ± 'ossom of the Sea 11. Years agone a gallant vessel, Oaken-ribbed and snowy-pinioned, O'er the heaving azure pressed: Morning pointed hands of glory. Evening down her shining pathway Beckoned on with flaming beacons. Guiding to the golden West. Day despatched her racing rivals, Fluttering torn and tattered canvas, Speeding through the upper blue ; Night within his gay pavilion. Bending low in loving homage, Down upon the path before her Star-enwoven garments threw. On the shores of Nova Scotia Stood a gallant soldier lover Waiting for his coming bride : In her far-ofi English mansion Heads were bowed and hearts were lonely. Loving lips were pleading lowl" For their dar!ing and their pride. Peering onward through the shadows, In the dimness of the dawning Stood she on the deck alone : Fairer was she than the Morning When he wears the flush of waking. And Other Poems When the misty loosened tresses Lightly from his brow are blown. Limpid were her eyes and bluer Than the beaming liquid azure Of the sky-bemocking deep ; For the voyage now was ending— Ere the Angels of the Dawning Passed again their golden portals Would she into harbor sweep. Voices from the verge of homeland Seemed to fall in fainter echoes Ever dying on her ear ; While in tones becoming clearer Came a call across the waters From the glowing land of sunset, Every moment growing near. From the margin of the homeland Hands that closely clung in parting Stretched across the swelling surge ; Yet her longing heart impelled her Where the hand of lover beckoned Onward to the land of promise On the ocean's western verge. TIL Never arms of mother pressed her, Never lover's hand caressed her. Never answered she their call ; A Blossom of the Sea Stronger arms were stretched to hold her, Ruder lips caressed and colder, Louder came a call and bolder. More imperative than all. From the land of gloom and shadow Noiseless came the spectres gliding- Sheeted forms whose ghostly hands Folded round the fated vessel Blinding veils and wreaths of vapor, Led her where she plunged and floundered In the sinking, oozy sands. Then the Tempest and his legions. Ranged in rushing crested squadrons, Sweeping down with boding roar. Struck and overthrew the vessel, Trampled canvas, mast and banner. Bore away the bride and tossed her Breathless, fainting on the shore. Cruel were the sheeted spectres. Tyrannous the trampling tempest, But more cruel yet was man. Waking from her swooning slumber, Weak the sodden shore she wandered. When a boat with wreckers laden To the shallow harbor ran : Fiends that quench the warning beacon, Set the death-alluring signal. V i'1 And Other Poems Greedy hover for their prey; Ruthless, hungry ocean vultures,— Pirates of the wrecked and stranded,- Ghouls that rob the dead and dying, Nor the living shun to slay. Here they found the hapless maiden Straying on the barren shoreland. Helpless, shelterless, alone. Pendent over velvet mantle Hung a gleaming golden necklace While the jewel of betrothal Flaming on her finger shone. Into waiting boat they bore her. Spoiled her of her costly mantle. Rudely wrenched away the chain; But her hand, with death's convulsion Tightly clenched the precious love-gift And to force it from her finger All their efforts were in vain. Wrathful at the maid's resistance. Off they smote the snowy finger, ' Seized the jeweled golden band; Then the maiden, bruised and bleeding Flung they from their floating shallop- Shrieking sank she in the surges, Holding high her wounded hand. 23 A Blossom of the Sea IV. Long the lonesome lover lingered, Long the mother interceded With the deaf, unheeding wave ; Though the months to years were growing, Ship nor sailor brought him tidings; Naught but mocking, moaning echoes To her cry the ocean gave. In ii seaport of Acadia Was the ring at last discovered. Once the treasure of the bride. And the roving wretch that sold it. Lying in a home of mercy. Conscience-tortured, horror-haunted. Gasped the ghoulish tale and died. Still when ghostly mists are gliding Near the coasts of Sable Island Is a slender maiden seen Lifting hand with severed finger. Passing like a fleeting shadow Over shallow sea and shoreiand. With a sorrow-troubled mien, — Seeking, restless and bewildered, 'Mid the misty maze of waters. Where her westward path may lie ; Ever thwarted, ever turning, 34 And Other Poems Ever more perplexed she wanders, Searching for her vanished jewel, With a tender plaintive cry. There amid the maddest tumult Of the Tempest, hoarse with passion, One the maiden's moaning hears Sinking to a sobbing whisper. Swelling to a scream of terror, Till beneath the bubbling billows Swift the phantom disappears. ZS A Blossom of the Sea LAMENT OF A SKELETON IStar Mnlnt, in Frana, bai bin unianhtd in a ca-vt, unjir a latxt Mtumulatitn tftattr dipuiti, a gravi containing Hut litlttmi, evidtnlly thtit tf a man and a lutman, lying lidi by tidi, •with trinhli leaiund anund. Thin -win all rimovid H thi mmnim.\ IN AGES gone, when Time and Earth were young, We trod the wildness of the swampy gloom Where night of horror ever round us hung ; We heard with awe the mighty billows boom And break upon the beach with sounding crash ; We saw the rivers delve their dykes of stone, Or burst the barriers of the hills and dash Primeval monarchs from their seated throne. Within the pathless forests we pursued The mighty monsters ; or for life we fought. And when the snarling savage lay subdued, His shaggy spoils for food and vesture brought Within the murkv hollows of our cave. Where jutting shelves of jagged rock were piled On shapeless shattered walls, and gave A dismal shelter from the winter wild. We lived our lives. With zeal we blindly did The lowly task allotted us, — with crude Materials of i e early world amid The rugged cliffs to make a pathway rude 26 And Other Poems For after-feet to widen and improve : For all the generations of the past Have merely builded for the hosts that move Through many windings to the height at last We lived our lives: and when the summons came, Our rude but reverent sons assembling, laid Us side by side withm the cave-the same Dim cave that held us living— all arrayehey set Utensils of our dwelling, few but dear; Cruon of a sire, as patron of the Arts And Sciences, beloved and honored y-t 1 hough half a busy century has fJed Son of a mother who, although a queen. Was yet a queen of mothers, who, in heart Snow-pure, kept all her court unstained- Of such a mother and of such a sire A worthy son has England's Edward been. The pledge he gave the nation he has kept; He loved his own and loved them to the end, And for them labored to his latest breath 39 A Bhssotn of the Sea No more can mortal claim than duty done. Man among men, king among Icings he stocKl ; Now, summoned from us to a higher throne, He waits the judgment of the King of kings. 40 And Other Poems AMBITION AND PRAISE "I .harg, ih.. Cnmi^ell, Jli„g ai,'ay ambiti,n. " A MBITION fling thou not away ^k Except the baser kind ; Nay, rather strive to bring in play All virtues of thy mind. 'Tis both the duty and the right Of every earnest man To mark afar the distant height And reach it if he can. Let not a talent buried lie; Swift follow Thought with Deed For wmged life is flitting by And instant is the need. Awaken every dormant power. Its fullest service give; Relax not till the latest hour. Life's every moment live. ' With dauntless energy of soul Each nerve unwearied strain To reach the very farthest goal Thy genius may attain. If tho,; outrun the foremost van, Relinquish not the strife; 4r A Blossom of the Sea For he is nearest perfect man That makes the most of life. If honest lips with praise reward Thy honest word or deed, Contemn it not, nor disregard, — Accept it as thy meed. Too seldom far a noble fame A noble life repays; Too many are the lips that blame. Too few that utter praise. If in our purer thoughts we trust Some merit God may see, The praises of the goo